1670s, "a scaling or peeling off, the act or process of exfoliating," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin exfoliare "to strip of leaves" (see exfoliate).
Entries linking to exfoliation
exfoliate v.
1610s, transitive, "to cast off, shed" (a surface); 1670s, intransitive, "to separate or come off in thin, leaf-like layers;" from Late Latin exfoliatus, past participle of exfoliare "to strip of leaves," from ex "off, out of" (see ex-) + folium "leaf" (from PIE root *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom"). Related: Exfoliated; exfoliating.